Women’s Top 25: No. 16 Nebraska crushes No. 19 Michigan State

Nebraska guard Tear’a Laudermill (1), Esther Ramacieri (11), Hannah Tvrdy, back right, and Sadie Murren celebrate in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Michigan State in the semifinals of the Big Ten women’s tournament in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 8, 2014. Nebraska defeated Michigan State 86-58.
MICHAEL CONROY-THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Cornhuskers (24-6) advance to the Big Ten tournament championship game against No. 23 Iowa, the fifth-seeded team, on Sunday.

Nebraska was on top 24-17 in the first half prior to Laudermill’s 3-pointer that capped a 9-0 Cornhusker run and stretched the lead to 33-17 over Michigan State (22-9). Over the next 6 minutes, Nebraska upped that margin to 23 points and led the Spartans 50-27 at the break.

The Cornhuskers scored first in the second period, opening a 26-point lead, and coasted the remainder of the half, while shooting 52 percent from the floor.

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Branndais Agee led Spartan scorers with 18 points.

No. 1 UCONN 72, CINCINNATI 42

UNCASVILLE, Conn. >> Breanna Stewart scored 22 points Saturday to lead top-ranked UConn to a 72-42 rout of eighth-seeded Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.

UConn extended the school’s third longest winning streak to 38 games. The Huskies, who won their regular-season conference games by an average of 37 points, will play No. 24 Rutgers in the semifinals. The Scarlet Knights beat SMU 68-49 earlier Saturday.

Kayla McBride was among four in double figures with 10 points for the top-seeded Fighting Irish (31-0), who had no trouble putting away the injury-depleted Wolfpack. Notre Dame scored the first 12 points, led by 28 at halftime and by 37 from there to continue their dominating run in their new league.

The Fighting Irish, who shot 60 percent in a 26-point win against Florida State in Friday’s quarterfinals, shot 52 percent in the first half on the way to their second lopsided win against the fourth-seeded Wolfpack (25-7) in a week.

Notre Dame will try to become the first team to go 19-0 through ACC regular-season and tournament play since Duke in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

No. 3 LOUISVILLE 88, HOUSTON 43

UNCASVILLE, Conn. >> Shoni Schimmel scored 15 points and Antonita Slaughter added 14 to lead Louisville to an easy win in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference.

Sara Hammond added 11 points — all in the first 8 minutes — for the Cardinals (29-3).

Louisville jumped all over the Cougars, racing out to a 26-4 lead. Schimmel got the Cardinals on the board hitting a 3-pointer, the 99th of the season for the senior which set a new school record. Schimmel broke Sara Nord’s mark.

Schimmel’s layup made it 30-6 midway through the first half. Houston (6-25) didn’t string together consecutive baskets until nearly 14 minutes were gone in the game. Marche’ Amerson’s jumper made it 30-10 with 5:42 left.

DeNesha Stallworth and Linnae Harper each had 12 points for Kentucky (24-7), which will play in its fourth SEC tournament final in the last five years. The Wildcats, who will face Tennessee for the championship, won their only league title in 1982.

South Carolina (27-4), the SEC regular-season champion, had 16 turnovers, most coming in the first 10 minutes. The Gamecocks were playing in only their second semifinal, following an appearance in 2012.

The Gamecocks scored the game’s first points on a basket by Elem Ibiam, who had 16 points. Kentucky scored the next 12 points and never lost the lead.

No. 6 TENNESSEE 86, No. 15 TEXAS A&M 77

DULUTH, Ga. >> Isabelle Harrison had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Tennessee held off Texas A&M to earn a spot in the SEC tournament title game.

Meighan Simmons had 15 points and Bashaara Graves had 14 for Tennessee (26-5).

Courtney Walker scored 26 points to lead Texas A&M (24-8). Courtney Williams added 22, but the high-scoring sophomores were not enough to beat the Lady Vols.

Texas A&M, the defending champion, led by 10 points in the first half but couldn’t match Tennessee’s inside game. The Lady Vols took a 48-26 advantage in rebounds and scored 50 points in the paint.

No. 9 BAYLOR 81, KANSAS 47

OKLAHOMA CITY >> Nina Davis scored 20 points to help Baylor to an easy win in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

Odyssey Sims, the nation’s scoring leader and Big 12 Player of the Year, added 15 points for the top-seeded Lady Bears (27-4). Baylor, the three-time defending tournament champion, advanced to play No. 18 Oklahoma State in the semifinals on Sunday.

Baylor has won 13 of 14 since losing at Kansas 76-60 on Jan 19, including two victories over Oklahoma State.

Chelsea Gardner had 21 points and nine rebounds and Dakota Gonzalez added 10 points and six rebounds for No. 8 seed Kansas (13-19), which shot just 34 percent from the field and suffered its worst loss of the season. The Jayhawks were coming off an 87-84 overtime win over Kansas State the night before.

No. 18 OKLAHOMA ST 67, IOWA STATE 57

OKLAHOMA CITY >> Brittney Martin scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Oklahoma State pulled away late in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

The Cowgirls (23-7) got 14 points each from Tiffany Bias and Brittany Atkins and Kendra Suttles, who was clutch off the bench down the stretch, had 11.

The Cyclones (20-10) tied the game at 52 with 8:45 to play but went cold. OSU used a 6-0 surge for separation and closed the game by hitting 6 of 8 free throws. Suttles scored seven straight points for the Cowgirls as they pulled away.

Hallie Christofferson led Iowa State with 21 points and 11 rebounds and Nikki Moody had 14 points. ISU shot just 34 percent, going 7 for 25 from 3-point range.

Oklahoma State shot 50 percent and forced Iowa State into 16 turnovers.

No. 23 IOWA 77, OHIO STATE 73

INDIANAPOLIS >> Theairra Taylor scored 21 points and made a go-ahead layup with 1:32 left as Iowa held on in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament.

After Taylor’s go-ahead layup gave Iowa (26-7) a 75-73 lead, Ameryst Alston missed a layup on Ohio State’s ensuing possession. Martina Ellerbe then missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer for Ohio State (17-18) with 10 seconds left and Melissa Dixon sunk two free throws for Iowa with a second remaining as the Hawkeyes advanced to the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2010.

Bethany Doolittle and Ally Disterhoft each added 18 points and Melissa Dixon scored 16 for Iowa, which never trailed.

Alston led Ohio State with 20 points while Ellerbe and Darryce Moore each added 15 for the Buckeyes.

Trailing 35-31 early in the second half, the Scarlet Knights (22-8) went on a 18-4 run to take control. Scaife had six points and Copper had five during the spurt.

Scaife’s two free throws made it 49-39 with 8:20 left in the game. SMU couldn’t get closer than seven the rest of the way.

The Scarlet Knights will play Connecticut in the semifinals on Sunday.

Keena Mays scored 23 points to lead SMU (17-13). She helped the Mustangs build a 30-24 halftime lead hitting five 3-pointers in the first half. SMU scored the first five points before Rutgers went on a 16-0 run. Then Mays took over as the Mustangs outscored the Scarlet Knights 25-8.